Category: Animals / Insects / Water Life / Plants / Nature
Poetry: Meetings
Twice on other travels a wolf stood on the periphery of lamplight.
Our eyes intensified in the silent distance between sanctity.
There is one who appreciates secondhand revelations of wolves.
Sparrow hawk waves fast hinges of small capture in its apex of watch.
Where are the absent coyotes of Willamina?
Winter-sleepy mice are slow.
The salmon pass the fishers’ drift into deadline.
The count is a button pushed in the rapture of instinctual homing.
An eye squint records the shrapnel glimpses of Chinook.
Our river’s low, as manly winds blur the edges of inland clouds.
Aspiring rain is a sleepy feminine whisper.
Grasses sweep patterns of mock celestial visitations.
Otter pelts feel soothingly moist in the rich depth of velvety pelage
Small bare edged ears are symbolic of ocean’s chill.
One secret otter strip is owned for future weaving.
Otter woven into a 1Ravenstail robe is royal and tide riddled.
The otter dances on prominent lineage hidden through survival.
Copper light resumes ceremony from absence to embrace our shoulders.
1. Tlingit weaving and a form that nearly died out.
Copyright © 2024 by Elizabeth Woody. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 27, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
A Poem for Wednesday
The Home of the Sacred Ofelia Zepeda
Sublime landscapes were those rare places on earth where one had more chance than elsewhere to glimpse the face of God. —“The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” by William Cronon
The “sublime landscape” is not a place to catch a glimpse.
These places are where the creators, Gods, deities and powerful beings live.
At Waw Giwulig I’itoi’s home is found.
O’odham climb the peak to be in the goodness of the Creator.
At Mauna Kea the Goddess Pele resides.
Hawaiians climb a volcano and humble themselves there.
At San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff Kachinas and Ye’ii Bi Cheii
spirits live.
They climb down the mountain blessed with songs and prayers
when Navajo and Hopi call them.
In the Grand Canyon many Gods, deities, and
powerful beings stay in these rock walls and cliffs
holding vigil for their people.
In this powerful place are all the sacred beings.
The Hualapai, Havasupai, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo and others know they
are there. The people simply don’t “catch a glimpse” of holy beings
they sing them; they pray them in these places.
Copyright © 2024 by Ofelia Zepeda. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 26, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
See (and hear!) more about this poet, and this poem on this page.
Wichita’s turkey traffic enforcer causes fowl play at busy intersection
by FOX Kansas NewsTue, November 26th 2024 at 9:24 AM
(I saw this on the news last night and thought it would be fun for us here. It’s actually our local/Wichita ABC affiliate news, on the Simpsons’s channel here. If you click through, you can watch just this story, or our whole little nighttime newscast, if you like. I can’t find the link to embed the video, which I recommend. -A)
An unexpected but welcome visitor is getting a lot of attention at an east Wichita intersection, whether he’s stopping traffic or trying to attack cars.
In a world of too much distracted driving, all of the drivers and passengers near Central and Greenwhich are paying attention to G.G. the Eastside Turkey.
Nancy Withers owns Kitchen Wow, one of several places the famous Eastside Turkey likes to hang out. She says he’s been around for almost a year now.
FOX Kansas News reporter Jocelyn Schifferdecker has more on the road warrior in the video posted above.
Thanksgiving by Nancy Beiman
(I love this toon on GoComics. The artist/author writes on Substack, and this one is especially nice. -A)
It should be every day. Read on Substack
American Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 28. Grandma Heckel is visiting the FurBabies. This is only fair since she hosted the dinner last year and had the Buffet family visit for Canadian Thanksgiving this year. Grandma likes turkey.
Kate wasn’t allowed to make the pies last year. She was just an influencer.
FurBabies, November 19, 2023
Grandma did like it.
The Dog Family had a Friendsgiving with Mrs. Oldman and Buster.
FurBabies, November 21, 2023
Since Grandma is visiting, Mrs. Oldman is celebrating the holiday elswhere this year, possibly in Mexico. (I like to think that all of the off camera characters are living ordinary lives when I don’t have the ‘camera’ on them; we get glimpses when they do something funny.)
FurBabies is seen from the point of view of the Dog Family and Kate. The parents and Grandma never appear in the strip, so I had to find a situation that would allow us to guess their reactions to an unanticipated event. Luckily I found a great ‘human interest’ story about a dog and an Item that was perfect for the occasion.
Plans for the formal dinner began on Monday, November 25. Grandma likes dressing up. We see Shawm and Stella ‘suit up’ for a rehearsal, then cut to a night scene. Grandma Heckel is staying in Kate’s bedroom, which she shares with Sirius and Floof. Everyone has to find a new place to sleep. Sirius is not happy with his options. Sirius finds the Item on November 27, so I won’t reveal it here. I was happy with the results. We also see where Shawm and Stella sleep every night.
The situation resolves on November 30, which then conveniently transitions into the Holiday strips. There’s a bit of repetition with variation when Kate once again tries to send a text to Santa. Things do not work out as planned.
Real life is like that, except it isn’t usually funny. (snip)
These Bees Hustle to Put Food on the Table | Deep Look
You know honeybees make honey, but did you know they make bread too? And four other types of bees are also dedicated chefs! Alfalfa leafcutting bees take a punch from a flower for your ice cream. Blue orchard bees bring you almonds and sweet cherries. Plus, stingless bees protect their tasty honey in creative ways. And bindweed bees’ way of gathering pollen deserves a fashion award.
These videos are done in 4K. Hugs
Peace & Justice History for 11/24
| November 24, 1859 British naturalist Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, which explained his theory of evolution.The basis for the theory is natural selection, the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable (genetically based) physical or behavioral traits. Such changes allow an organism to better adapt to its environment and help it survive and have more offspring. Evolution is now universally accepted among scientists, and is the organizing principle upon which modern biological and related sciences are based.  Darwin and “On the Origin of Species” |
| November 24, 1869 Women and men from 21 states met in Cleveland to organize the American Women Suffrage Association, led by Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Julia Ward Howe. The group’s approach to enfranchisement for women was through acquiring the right to vote state-by-state. Those in Cleveland had broken with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton of the National Women Suffrage Association over the 15th amendment to the Constitution, which had granted the vote to black male Americans following the end of slavery, but had not enfranchised women, whether white or black. Anthony and Stanton protested the protection of black rights over universal suffrage. Original document from AWSA in the National Archives |
| November 24, 1947 A group of writers, producers and directors that became known as the “Hollywood 10” were cited for contempt of Congress when they refused to cooperate at hearings about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.  The Hollywood 10 Following their appearance in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) under Representative John Parnell Thomas (R-New Jersey), the House of Representatives voted 346-17 for the citations. All were convicted and sentenced to 6-12 months in prison. The charges were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Invoking their 5th Amendment right not to be witnesses against themselves, and their 1st Amendment right to freely associate with whom they choose, the Hollywood 10 refused to answer the question, “Are you a member of the Communist Party or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” Others cooperated: the mother of actor and dancer Ginger Rogers testified her daughter had been asked to say in a film, “Share and share alike, that’s democracy,” a line from a script written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo. Rogers said this was “definitely Communist propaganda.”  Free The Hollywood 10 demo Read more (2 links) |
| November 24, 1970 14 American students met with Vietnamese in Hanoi to plan the “Peoples’ Peace Treaty” between the peoples of the United States, South Vietnam and North Vietnam.  It begins, “Be it known that the American people and the Vietnamese people are not enemies. The war is carried out in the names of the people of the United States and South Vietnam, but without our consent. It destroys the land and people of Vietnam. It drains America of its resources, its youth, and its honor.” The treaty was ultimately endorsed by millions. Read the treaty |
| November 24, 1983 On Thanksgiving Day seven Plowshares activists hammered and poured blood on B-52 bombers converted to carry cruise missiles at Griffiss Air Force Base near Syracuse, New York.  Bloody handprint on missile.Watch Plowshares history video Read more (2 links) |
| November 24, 1987 The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to scrap short- and medium-range missiles in the first superpower treaty to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons. The Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF treaty), signed by Reagan and Gorbachev, was the first to actually reduce the number of nuclear weapons held by the two sides.  |
November 24, 1993 Queen Lydia Liliuokalani Congress voted to formally apologize to Hawaii for the 1893 overthrow of the government of Queen Lydia Liliuokalani. What the apology was for Read the apology An Hawaiian Declaration of Independence |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november24
’tis True.
Same with watching a pet hedgehog eat watermelon, which is also out there on YT somewhere. Meanwhile, this is right here. 17% lower is a good thing. Watch it 2x!
Lunchtime Reading
The links are priceless to read on their own, but there is fine info when we click.
Science on Saturday
“Whale-ship collision hotspots: 93% have no protection measures”
November 22, 2024 Evrim Yazgin
A global survey has found that shipping traffic overlaps with almost the entire range of all whale species but only 7% of the areas with the highest risk of whale-ship collisions have protection measures in place for the whales.
“Whale-ship collisions have typically only been studied at a local or regional level … and patterns of risk remain unknown for large areas,” says lead author Anna Nisi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington in the US. “Our study is an attempt to fill those knowledge gaps and understand the risk of ship strikes on a global level.”
The research, published in Science, focused on 4 species: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales.
It found that the highest risk areas lay along the coasts of the Americas, southern Africa and parts of Asia.
The team found mandatory measures to reduce whale-ship collisions were very rare. These overlapped with just 0.54% of blue whale hotspots and 0.27% of humpback hotspots. Such measures had no overlap with any fin or sperm whale hotspots.
The findings are “timely” and “not surprising”, according to Vanessa Pirotta, a researcher at Sydney’s Macquarie University who was not involved in the study. (snip-MORE)
Scottie's Playtime 